


Wraith

by TheAzureFox



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: F/M, M/M, Yellow Bird Child left unnamed for obvious reasons, also Blue Angel/Aoi will forever appear in my writings whether she is relevant or not apparently, i just really wanted to include a personal theory in here whoops, rip her who is constantly dragged into my shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 16:10:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11467062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: He's heard of her. The wraith of the VRAINS. He's just never expected to meet her firsthand.In which Shoichi's life coincides with that of the mysterious Ema Bessho and with that of the phantom of the VRAINS.(Shoichi x Ema, hinted Yusaku x YellowBirdChild)





	Wraith

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I wanted to write ShoichixEma to test the waters with their (nonexistent canon relationship as of episode 8) as well as thread in a personal theory of mine about Ema and her role in the story. Basically, that she's the guardian of either the yellow or purple missing children we've yet to see. You'll see which one I chose later down the road.
> 
> Uhhh, other than that I guess I'll say the ending got a little weird??? Like, I've been writing this for like almost about a week I think so my original idea for this got derailed a lot and I'm sorry if this train wreck doesn't meet anyone's expectations bc I really love this pair, I do, but i think I crashed and burned somewhere along the road (~32 pages does that to you honestly)
> 
> (also, warning, it's probably chock full of errors that I will probably fix when I find them bc man am I bad at finding my own mistakes)
> 
> Enjoy~

_Playmaker was hurt._

He saw it. He saw the way the Knight drove him into a warehouse, sending the building toppling down upon him. Playmaker had cried out, angry and shocked and startled as his arms flailed before him. The sickening thud of flesh hitting wood had echoed on the TV screens and it takes all Shoichi has to not dissolve into a panic attack.

“Please be alright!” he snatches off a duel disk from a nearby desk and hurries into the secret VRAINS compartment he has in his hotdog truck. “Yusaku, please be alright!”

He slides the device over his wrist and holds it up. “Into…Into the VRAINS!”

Blue and white lines surround him, forming a little sphere that compresses down upon him. His avatar forms around him, a mask covering his face and a suit taking the place of his hoodie. He emerges from a portal, arriving at coordinates approximate to Playmaker’s last known location.

As expected, there are news reporters swarming the area. The avatars of animals flood the streets as well as faceless newsman like himself. They’re eager for a story, pushing and pressing up around a warehouse that has collapsed upon itself. Shoichi searches the outskirts for a way to get in, for a way to merely _look_ and _see_ if Yusaku is still alive and well. However, the mass of news media representatives blockade his way.

“Come on, come on!” he says, anxiety building into his legs and fingers. “Yusaku, where are you?”

The sound of bells.

“Are you looking for Playmaker?”

He stiffens at the sound of a female voice, spinning around to see a masked lady staring at him. Silver eyes bore into him, her gaze fixated upon him. The expression she wears is guarded, her stance protective, but there is something about the way she studies him that makes him become on high alert.

He bristles. “Who are you?”

There’s the slightest raise of an eyebrow. “Do you want to see him again or not, Shoichi Kusanagi?”

He’s on instant alert. “ _How do you know my name?_ ”

“Is that really what’s important right now?” Her eyebrow ascends slightly more and it is beginning to look like she is mocking him. She turns away from him and then begins walking away. “If you want him back, follow me.”

He narrows his eyes, gaze tossed between the woman and the warehouse behind him. Should he trust this vixen? The crewman and reporters behind him are clamoring, gazing at each other with confusion and surprise. A frog looks at a pigeon and then they nod, departing from the scene. An eagle follows afterwards, swooping away.

Shoichi turns back to the woman. She is perched on the edge of a roof, sitting on the ends of blackened tiles. Her gaze is cast out, forward, staring into an endless space of gray towers and purple streams. When he comes to her side, she doesn’t even look at him. Instead, she slips off the roof, falling to the ground.

Shoichi lingers for a moment before jumping after her.

She guides him without looking back, her steps confident and quick but not so quick as to elude him entirely. He follows after her, stumbling and tripping like a drunken man. _Yusaku!_ He thinks, clenching his fists as the woman tiptoes forward. _Yusaku, Yusaku,_ Yusaku _!_

The stranger continues forward, seemingly unaware of his following and yet Shoichi suspects she’s well aware of his pursuit. It’s almost like she’s enjoying having him tail her. A strange conclusion, he knows, but he simply can’t fathom why she is always steps ahead of him instead of keeping pace. She is much too fast for him and yet she has the decency to always keep herself in view.

Finally, she stops in front of a dilapidated house and beckons him inside. He follows, uncertain and wary, but finds all suspicions dissipated when he sees what’s inside.

A bed manifested inside the VRAINS world sits in the interior of the house. On top of it rests Yusaku, eyes closed and bruises marring his skin. Shoichi runs to him, hands grabbing at his shoulders and shaking him. Hard.

The boy doesn’t wake up.

He whirls around to face the mysterious woman, snarling and accusations already flying in his mind. “ _What did you do to him?_ ”

She stares without flinching. “I found him. You should be grateful I did; the news would’ve been all over him had I not. He’s likely in a state of shock right now. That fall hit him pretty hard.”

“Why would you do this? You don’t even know Playmaker. Why would you help him – _us_ – out?”

She laughs as if his question is the most hilarious thing in the world. She keels over, clutching at her stomach, and he is left staring at her with extreme puzzlement. When she recovers, she pulls herself back into a state of utter calm. In some ways, she reminds Shoichi of a light switch. Cool and intimidating one moment and laughing over something so stupid the next.

“I help because I want to,” the woman tells him, playing with a strand of her silver hair. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not the cat who killed your canary; I’m here out of free will. I wouldn’t have saved your son and guided you to him if I had other intentions.”

He narrows his eyes, backing up and grabbing Yusaku’s body in his arms. He glares at her, uneasy in her carefree presence. His lips curl and he bares his duel disk at her.

“I don’t trust you,” he says.

“As expected,” she shrugs as if it is the least of her worries. “Go on, leave. He’ll be fine in the meantime.”

Shoichi triggers the logout mechanism for Yusaku. The boy vanishes from his hands, disappearing into specks of light. The man regains himself, Yusaku safe, and tilts his head up at her.

“What is it you want from us?”

The woman glides forward, fingers touching the bottom of his chin. “Ghost Girl.”

His eyebrows furrow in confusion. Her skin burns on his and he winces in surprise. “Ghost Girl?”

“Ghost Girl,” she nods and removes her teasing hand from his face. “My name - remember it.”

“I won’t need to,” he snaps, lips curled and eyes wide with hostility.

She tilts her head and frowns at that; the first sign of discontent she’s shown since his meeting her. But, she shrugs and walks away, seemingly unconcerned.

“You owe me,” is all she says. “You owe me big time, Shoichi Kusanagi.”

Her voice echoes in his ears as he logs out.

~~~

He’s heard of her. This wraith of the VRAINS.

An enchanting mystery, a widely-spread rumor that merges into the depths of ‘myth’. A strong female duelist who wields monstrous cards and who terrifies the hearts of all those who meet her. A shady individual, one whose mere presence invokes the word _supernatural_ to mind. She is nameless, a mere rumor on the tip of one’s tongue. Yet, she spreads like wildfire, ever omnipotent in the underground world of the Link VRAINS.

Shoichi ponders a white ceiling, staring up at a ceiling fan that spins round and round. He’s debated about the mysterious woman for ages, uncertain and uneasy about what her assistance means for him. She’d put him in her debt and, while Shoichi was most definitely not the type to fulfill his debts he was not one to ignore them either. Her saving Yusaku, much less bringing Shoichi to him, places him in a position most unwanted.

At one point, Yusaku takes notice of his silence, peering down at him with mild interest. “You’ve been in here all day,” he notes.

He sits up from his position on the floor and gives a faint smile. “How are you doing? Are the bandages doing okay for you?”

Yusaku touches the strips of white cloth that line his skin. “Yes, I think so.”

“Good, I was afraid I was going to have to take you to a hospital.”

Yusaku scowls and then takes a seat beside him, a soda can in hand. “How’d you know where I was?”

“I didn’t.”

“Hmm?”

Shoichi frowns at the floor. “I…had help.”

Ignis takes this time to elaborate. “ _Some creepy lady led him to your unconscious body. Best of times, right? She was carrying you in her arms aaaalll the way over to some strange house in the middle of the VRAINS._ ”

“That’s not at all alarming,” Yusaku notes in a deadpan.

“ _It gets better, master. Apparently, she was able to recognize Master Kusanagi in his disguise. She’s a tricky devil, that one._ ”

“Who was she?” Yusaku sips from his soda, carbonation echoing in the wake of his words.

“That’s just the thing, Yusaku. I don’t know.” Shoichi stretches. “However, somehow, she knew that you and I were related. She brought me to you under the suggestion that you were my son.”

Yusaku furrows his brows and he fidgets with the can in his hands. “She doesn’t sound like she’s an ally.”

“ _But she’s not a foe either, huh?_ ” the purple lines of Ignis’s eye move in a thoughtful circle. “ _Well, whatever. We’ll see her again, won’t we? We’ll get answers then_.”

“Are you sure about that?” Yusaku glances at it.

Ai huffs. “ _Well, no. Humans are unpredictable. You’re about as likely as to get answers than to not._ ”

“Mm,” Yusaku looks over to his friend and frowns. “You should be careful if she shows up again.”

“I’ll be fine,” Shoichi sighs.

“She knows your real identity.”

“I’ll be _fine_ ,” he reiterates, though his words are less sure.

Yusaku backs off, standing back to his feet and taking his leave. “If you say so.”

Shoichi watches as the door slams shut and then muses to himself:

“I _hope_ so.”

~~~

The next day, a peculiar woman shows up at his hotdog stand.

Shoichi is used to strange customers. He gets them all the time. There are people who are _extremely finicky_ with their orders, those who nitpick every drop of mustard and ketchup (and who get on Shoichi’s nerves because _come on_ kid, just eat your damn hot dog already). There are people who have to count out their change one-by-one even though _it’s just fifty cents come on just give him two quarters and you’d be done already._ Still, in a way, he thinks this lady takes the cake.

There is something bizarre about her, something that Shoichi can’t put his finger on. It’s not the pink hair or the elf ears (elf ears?) that distract him but the way she words her order. Her voice drips with thorns, poking and prodding into him even though all she is asking is for a single hot dog. Her sentences fluctuate with mystery, silver polishing her tongue to the point of dripping down her chin. She draws his attention from her words to her eyes, keeping him on his toes. There’s something oddly eerie about her presence, of the way she flicks out her tongue and coils around him like a serpent. Amusement flickers in amethyst eyes as they make an exchange – _one hot dog, one plate of nachos, one soda please_ – and Shoichi is inevitably ensnared.

She takes her order from him, laughing a bit too gaily for someone who’s just grabbing food, and offers him a goodbye. Her voice echoes of wind chimes and Shoichi hears the clattering in her words as much as he hears its sparkle.

“Thanks for the meal,” she tells him, giving the slightest bow of her head. “I’ll definitely be back tomorrow.”

She vanishes without a trace. Shoichi half suspects she’s set-up base on one of the tables behind his wagon but he doesn’t bother to check. He has a gaggle of girls who are arguing over their recent test scores to bother with.

Yusaku appears beside him, his faithful ally pulling up a chair to watch as Shoichi manages to dissuade the group of girls from bickering and onto ordering. He sends his companion a spiteful look and Yusaku merely shrugs, unwilling to dip his head into anything he doesn’t need to. Shoichi takes care of the girls and sends them on his way, taking a seat beside Yusaku with a huff.

His friend sips from a glass of milk freshly prepared. “So, that woman,” he begins, gaze watching white ripple across a transparent surface, “did you know her?”

“No?” Shoichi turns to him. “Why?”

The boy gives a nonchalant shrug that is half-hearted at best. “It seemed like she knew you.”

“Did she now?”

He nods.

“How odd.”

Yusaku peers at him. “If she shows up again, be careful. We don’t know what she wants.”

“Don’t scold me. I know that already.”

A ghost of a smile appears on Yusaku’s lips. “Do you really?”

“I get the feeling you’re mocking me.”

“No. I’m not,” Yusaku tilts his head towards a pair of boys who approach. “I’m merely concerned. It’s possible she wants something to do with me too. We both have to be on our guards from now on.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Shoichi sighs and then greets his clients with a wide grin. He feels Yusaku’s gaze travel on his backside before drifting off somewhere else.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Shoichi catches the faintest hint of pink disappearing into the void.

He frowns.

~~~

Playmaker is cornered, entrapped in a cage of light. The boy struggles against it, ramming into bars of white, snapping and snarling at the shadow that leans over him. The emergency cameras shake and tremble, following Playmaker’s movements as his arms slap against virtual pixels and as his legs collapse beneath him.

Shoichi tries his hardest to program an escape. This monster before him gloats, blackened hands yanking Playmaker’s face forward. They laugh, smiling and playing with the boy as he glares up with bitter defiance. He spits something back at the figure, struggling to escape, but finds coils of luminance keeping him in place.

“Hold on, Yusaku!” Shoichi mutters, bringing up several windows to type a series of code into.

His fingers fly across his keyboard, blurring into rhythmic movements that echo with the sound of tapping and clicking. The shadow kicks at Playmaker and the boy kneels over, saliva escaping and dripping down his cheek. The boy attempts to snarl in protest but is silenced by a blow to the leg. He screams and Shoichi’s heart hammers with panic and fury. _How dare they, how dare they, how dare-!_

In his agony, another window appears alongside his. It is foreign-looking, a lone sheet of white space, and he eyes it with mild concern before closing out of it. He doesn’t need a blank page to distract him from his job. Why’d he even summon one in the first place?

It vanishes and he returns to his work, typing furious codes that scramble across the screen in his haste. He needs to worm his way through, to create a route of escape but there’s no way to wiggle around the firewall…

Another square of white appears and Shoichi growls in frustration. He tries to close out of it when he finds his mouse swatted aside. Baffled and somewhat surprised, he tries again. His mouse stays in place, frozen, and glares back at him with spiteful restraint.

“What…?” he asks, shaking his mouse with vicious movements. He checks the bottom to see if it is still alive. A red light beams back at him and he winces. Nope, still working.

From the corner of the current screen he is working on, an avatar appears. It is humanoid in appearance, with the colorful depiction of an anime character. Large silver eyes look up at him and he watches as it gains the appearance of someone quite familiar.

Ghost Girl.

Obviously, it isn’t exactly her. The eyes are way too big, the hair a bit too colorful, and her body is way too small in comparison to her head. Still, the resemblance is there and hard to deny.

“Hello!” she says, placing her tiny arms behind her back. “Miss me?”

He narrows his eyes. “Why are you here?”

Her avatar spins, ascending up his screen and over to the blank page that had been opened seconds ago. Only, it wasn’t blank anymore but a section of zeroes and ones that made up half the page’s visible length. “I’m here to help,” Ghost Girl’s computer avatar says, winking at him. “You need to get past that firewall, right?”

“And should I really trust you?”

“Nope,” she tilts her head as if his suspicion is the least of her concerns. “I’m acting on my client’s orders. Now, do you want to bicker or do you want some help? Playmaker’s looking pretty pitiful right now.”

Shoichi’s gaze flicks to Yusaku and he notices the boy curled up on the floor of his cage, eyes closed and seemingly unconscious. He tightens his fingers into a fist, glares at the avatar and shakes his head. “Fine.”

Her avatar nods her head and then more lines of code appear on the newly-opened window. He types in his own set of commands, eyes scanning for details while his fingers continue to add more and more. Occasionally, he’ll notice Ghost Girl float over to his section of code, smirk, and then correct the errors that he himself cannot catch. He ignores her smug looks, knowing better than to inflate the ego of someone who’s already gloating. He needs to pay attention to Yusaku, to know that he’s _okay_ and that everything will be _fine_ and Ghost Girl mocking him _does not help whatsoever._

The shadowy villain on-screen offers another laugh, reaching down for the Duel Disk where Ignis is hiding. The AI screeches and rants, cursing and spitting and going overall berserk while his master lies on the ground but is quieted by the figure’s foot over Playmaker’s head.

“Done!” Ghost Girl chimes, and her code integrates with Shoichi’s.

There’s a pause, a moment in time in which Shoichi is unable to comprehend the large mass of data that strings itself through, and then a pool of blue particles opens up underneath Yusaku. The boy is dragged into it, falling through liquid tiles as the shadow hisses and screams, reaching through bars of light to snatch at his collar. They miss, fingers gliding through air, and Yusaku disappears from the VRAINS.

Shoichi immediately sends his chair flying, rushing to the backroom where he knows Yusaku’s body lies. He swings open the door, rushing to Yusaku’s side and shaking him awake.

Green eyes flutter open and Yusaku wipes at his bloodied lips. “I’m fine,” he says, before hacking up a mixture of saliva and crimson.

“ _You are not!_ ” Ignis huffs, orange eyes watching him with a pitiful attempt at concealing his concern. “ _Master, you’re in bad condition!”_

Shoichi lays him on his side and grabs at a nearby phone. He dials the emergency number and calls up an ambulance as Yusaku clutches at his chest. Red seeps through white and Shoichi applies as much pressure as he can.

“ _Bandages, Shoichi!_ ” Ignis snaps. “ _He needs bandages!_ ”

Shoichi nods and disappears from the room to grab at his emergency kit. _Hold on, just hold on!_

He returns to the room, flitting past the screens that have led to Yusaku’s escape. He pauses, spares the screen he’d been working on a second glance, and then rushes forward.

A single thought whispers past his mind.

_Ghost Girl’s avatar has disappeared._

~~~

He brings Yusaku a batch of flowers and a get-well card the next day. The boy protests such an action, groaning and fussing over money better well-spent, but Shoichi hears none of it. He presses them into the boy’s care, watches as the boy’s eyes alight with joy despite the scowl he wears on his face, and then stares at the ground.

“If only I had been sooner…!” he laments, fingers digging into the legs of his pants. His shoulders shake and he tries not to get emotional. Not in front of Yusaku.

The boy says nothing. But, he doesn’t have to. His face expresses it all. His furrowed eyebrows speak of confusion. His smile speaks of forgiveness, mercy. His eyes are shining, narrowed in concern but still able to suggest Yusaku thinks his own fate was unavoidable.

Yusaku reaches a hand onto his own and winces as if the very movement pains him. Shoichi opens his mouth to protest but Yusaku shakes his head and the man closes it.

“I’m alive, alright? That’s all that matters.”

“I…”

“Don’t fret over it. You got me out on time – that’s all I care about.”

Shoichi draws in a shaky breath, remembering Yusaku’s pained face and his tortured screams. He shakes his head, stands up and Yusaku reaches for him.

“I wasn’t able to save you without help.”

Yusaku’s hand pauses mid-air. “Help?”

“The woman from before. She helped me code the program to save you.”

“Ah,” Yusaku breathes.

Shoichi suffocates with knowing and leaves before his friend can offer up another word. The door shuts behind him and he leans on it, staring at the door across from him with shaking hands.

He would have failed.

He can already taste it on his tongue. Self-loathing stings at him and he shudders, looking at his fingers as they twitch with his frustration and disgust. Had Ghost Girl not helped him, he knows he wouldn’t have made it. Shoichi knows better than anyone, remembers the way his own manifestation of a program had paled in comparison to Ghost Girl’s quick typing. He hadn’t wanted her help and, had he refused her assistance, he was certain that Yusaku would have been sentenced to a life of ‘damaged beyond repair’.

The door in front of him opens and he hears bells in the back of his mind. A voice of wind chimes echoes in the wake of such an action, and he sees a figure emerging.

“I’ll be back to visit tomorrow!” a woman chirps, humming to herself as the door shuts behind her.

Amethyst eyes meet with storm gray ones.

“My,” the lady says, twisting a lock of pink in-between her fingers, “fancy seeing you here. Aren’t you the hotdog vendor at Den City’s plaza?”

There’s a nervous edge to her words, a kind of blade that sparks with alarm and panic. The newcomer stands in front of the door, letting it close behind her before resting her elbows on the palm of her hands.

He notes the way she stands in front of the door, her shoulders raised and her body language suggesting the need for his distraction. She presses closer, a little _too close_ , and observes him with a forced smile.

He stutters despite himself. “R-Right, I run the shop there.”

“Oh?” she chitters. “And why aren’t you there right now?”

“My friend was injured.”

“Friend?”

He nods. “He’s distant family. I’m taking care of him for the moment.”

“Ah.”

They stand in the middle of the hallway, unsure and uncertain.

“Why are you here?” Shoichi asks.

Her eyes widen by a fraction and she drops the strand of hair she is playing with. “My nephew,” she says. “He’s bedridden right now so I’ve come over to visit him.”

“Ah, that’s not good. Is he sick?”

“Yes. He gets sick quite frequently so you can say I’m a constant guest here.”

He shifts a foot to the left and she mimics the movement. He turns away from the door she has exited from and she relaxes as he steps away. She trails after him and offers a hand.

“Ema.”

He pauses to look over at her. “I’m sorry?”

“It’s my name. I figured I would introduce myself.”

He takes her hand and shakes it. “Shoichi Kusanagi.”

There’s a secretive smile on Ema’s face. “Such an interesting name. Shoichi means the first son of Sho. Kusanagi is a reference to one of the three sacred treasures of Japan. Perhaps you are the first son of such a relic?”

He stares at her like she is speaking nonsense and he is almost certain she is because her mouth rambles on while her eyes dart away from his. He knows she’s hiding something but what, exactly, that is something he himself cannot figure out.

Ema leads him to an elevator full of people and they squish themselves in, ignoring disgruntled complaints as the doors close behind them.

“What are you going to do now?” he asks her.

She brings out a phone. “I have a couple of jobs I need to fulfill,” she looks up at him and gives a sour smile, “gotta pay those hospital bills one way or another, right?”

Shoichi nods. “What type of jobs, if I may ask?”

“Freelance stuff,” she waves a hand. “I collect information on what my client’s want and give it to them.”

“Like a private investigator?”

“Something along those lines, yes,” she eyes him as the elevators doors open and they depart together. “How about you?”

“Mm?”

“Would you like to hire me sometime? No, wait,” Ema pulls out a business card and presses it into his hands. “Take this.”

His fingers curl around it and he brings it to his eyes. _Ema Bessho. Information hunter, phone number and email provided below._ He looks at her.

She winks. “I need to leave now,” she tells him. “But keep this in mind. I’ll always be available to help.”

He watches as she walks away, uneasiness still evident but surrounded with an aura of confidence nonetheless. A mystery, that one. Intriguing and yet with so many questions left unanswered. Shoichi pauses, contemplates upon their encounter, and then shakes his head.

Back to work.

~~~

The next day, Ghost Girl pops back on his screen.

It’s nearly midnight when her avatar appears. He’s sitting on his keyboard, his wagon flickering in the light of his computer screens as he surfs the web for information. Yusaku is still in charge of the hospital and while Shoichi _does_ worry over their bills (hospitals were pricey, after all. But, for Yusaku, he was willing to pay anything) he knew it was better to let the boy rest in safety than in the dismal enclosure of Shoichi’s hotdog wagon.

At first, she is silent. She pulls herself out a cartoon portal, a nice animation which catches his eye the moment it appears on-screen. She stands on his internet browser icon, teetering back and forth in interest while he contemplates a nearby web page. Question marks appear over her head and he wonders how she had managed to create a program so sophisticatedly life-like.

Finally, she decides to speak, jumping over to his webpage and sitting on the bottom. “Hello?” she asks, voice sparking with static. “You there?”

He pulls back and glares at her. “Of course. What do you want? To harass me?”

Her icon giggles and so does she. “No, I’m merely curious. You’re Playmaker’s caretaker, right?”

“Should I even deny it at this point?”

“Mm, I thought you’d sound much more angry.”

He scoffs. “And why’s that?”

“You seemed pissed at me when we first met.”

“And I had good reason to – you’re not someone I trust.”

“Oooh, ouch,” her avatar winces. “Not even after I helped you?”

“That’s because it overlapped with your client’s interests, right?”

She jumps up and down, playing hop-scotch with the various files that line the bottom gray bar of his Orange computer. Her feet glide over his various icons, gaze tossed to the bottom of his screen.

“Oi.”

She looks up at him and pauses in her game.

“Answer me.”

Ghost Girl’s avatar gives an exasperated sigh, shoulders slumping and she sits down over the icon of a trash bin. “Right, right,” she shrugs at him. “Yes, my client sent me to save Playmaker. He wanted me to repay a favor that Playmaker had done for his sister. Me helping you just coincided with that.”

He raises an eyebrow. “And?”

She peers at him. “And what?”

“Why are you here now?”

“To talk, I guess.”

“Weaseling out information from me?”

“I don’t deny it.”

“Then why should I say anything?”

“Because I’m bored and I don’t have any jobs to run right now. Talking to you sounded like a fun idea.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” he moves his mouse over the top of her head and clicks. He drags up and the icon goes with it. At first, she stares, baffled by the apparition above her head, and then she crosses her arms and glares at him.

“You’re very rude, you know that?”

He moves her into the trash can. Moments later, a window opens up and she climbs out of it, crossing her arms and glowering at him.

“I don’t care.”

He picks her back up again and she fights against it, arms reaching up to swat at his mouse. She drops from his grasp and he tries again, frustrated. She dances away, laughing as she slips through his metaphorical fingers.

“Good luck with catching me!”

He manages to snag the ends of her avatar’s ponytail and holds her up. She turns to him with an aghast expression, tears bubbling on the ends of her eyes.

“Ow,” she says mockingly. “How dare you.”

She struggles out of his grasp and then hops around to grab the mouse icon. She clasps it in both of her hands and shakes her head at him.

“Game over,” she tells him.

He laughs despite himself, amused by the shenanigans that have just taken place. “Alright, you win.”

“Good,” she lets go of the mouse and it hovers in front of her. She peers at it and then looks at him. “Try that again and I’ll make you pay.”

“How threatening,” he replies. “I’m scared.”

She laughs at that, her avatar tucking her arms behind her back and grinning. Ghost Girl spins and then smiles at him. He rolls his eyes, knowing that she is unable to see him do so (the camera option isn’t blinking with its normal green light, after all), and crosses his arms at her little spectacle.

Then, she pauses, perking up. “Ah, sorry,” she says suddenly, her gaze looking back at his screen saver. “I need to go now. I think a client’s calling.”

 _At midnight?_ He wants to ask, along with the question: _just what kind of job do you work?_ But, he merely sighs.

“Alright.”

Ghost Girl peers at Shoichi and laughs. “See you tomorrow?”

“Are you planning on coming back?”

There’s half exasperation in his voice.

“Of course.”

She disappears into her cartoon portal before he can say another word.

~~~

For the next couple of days, Ghost Girl keeps him company. Yusaku is still in the hospital’s care, tending to his wounds and internal injuries while Ignis keeps the boy company. Shoichi visits him on rare occasions (he still feels swallowed by his guilt) and, when he leaves, he’s always left to stare at the door that keeps Ema’s nephew enclosed. Sometimes, he reaches for the knob. Other times, he pulls away without a second glance. He can’t deny the curiosity that itches at his mind but he isn’t nosy enough to prod into someone else’s affairs.

Regardless, the woman from the VRAINS appears before him every day just as the cool night air settles in. Her avatar greets him, and they banter back and forth, forming a routine in which she teases him and he grouses about her constant interloping. He begins to adjust to her nosy presence, finding himself aware of her visits during his nightly web researching trips and almost expecting them to occur day by day. He won’t deny that he’s developed an interest in her, but the coffee that burns at his throat as the moon dances overhead suggests that his interest is a bit more complex than he wishes to believe.

On occasion, he sees Ema too. The woman greets him in the mornings, ready to prepare for her normal order, and while they don’t talk as much she always seems to be beaming in his presence. There’s something oddly innocent about her, something that, though devious and cunning, makes Shoichi wonder. In a way, she seems familiar, aloof but playful. _She is much like a cat_ , he thinks, _toying with the canary_. He doesn’t know why the comparison comes to mind but it fits her perfectly.

Both women intrigue him. On one hand, Ema is a real-life person. There is something alluring in the way her body language speaks, the way her shoulders have gone from up in discomfort to relaxed and how her smile speaks of more clarity than before. She was nice, interesting, but there was something rather off about her. On the other hand, Ghost Girl is a virtual being. The person on the other side could be anyone, could be any  _thing._ Just because she talked in the voice of young woman didn't mean she  _was_ one. Honestly, both were a gamble in their own way and Shoichi often had trouble figuring out why both of them interested him.

Eventually, Yusaku returns and, as if the boy has triggered a catalyst of some sort, Ema and Ghost Girl become less frequent in his life. He wonders Ema’s disappearance is due to the door opposite of Yusaku’s which had been left open and empty. He wonders if Ghost Girl’s disappearance is due to the sudden increase in jobs that she has complained of.

Regardless, he has to adjust to the normal pace of his life. Yusaku visits after and before school, enjoying a hotdog here and there while Shoichi attends to his customers. It’s almost nostalgic, in a way, and he must admit he’s missed the child’s constant presence.

However, as his eyes scan client after client, he finds himself missing the familiar weave of pink and gray that approaches his stand. He finds himself missing the anime caricature of a woman from the VRAINS. He finds himself missing them both (though, mostly the latter) and he wonders if they have suddenly lost interest in him.

Does he want to know? Maybe. Maybe not. But his heart clambers with concern, unsure and uncertain as their visits become less and less. Yusaku notices, of course, but if the boy is worried he shows no visible signs of agitation. Instead, the boy is as cool and calm as ever, gaze sharp but words nonexistent. Shoichi’s half-tempted to tiptoe around him for fear of being investigated but the boy doesn’t press or even ask. Instead, there is only a knowing smile that alerts Shoichi to the idea that Yusaku already knows.

He’s just not sure how he feels about that.

~~~~

One day, Yusaku goes missing.

How or why, Shoichi doesn’t know. He just understands that it’s not ordinary. His classmates report nothing out of the ordinary. There was no paranoia, no shifty glances or any other outward expression to suggest that boy might have been submerged into danger. Aoi Zaizen and Naoki Shima, perhaps the only people considered the closest to Yusaku inside of school, indicate no present suspicions.

“He was fine last I saw him,” Naoki says with a shrug when Shoichi inquires. The two are on relatively relaxed terms considering Naoki is a frequent visitor and thus there is no suspicion present on why Shoichi is asking such a question.

Aoi Zaizen, however, is more guarded. “Who are you to Yusaku?” she asks, a lilt of danger in her voice. Her eyes narrow at him, distaste clear in her voice. She doesn’t believe him or anything he says.

“I’m a family friend. His parents couldn’t come to investigate so I’m doing it for them.”

“Are you now?” her chin raises and a cold chill permeates his body as frost reflects in amber pools. “Because Yusaku has told me he has no family.”

 _Damn you, Yusaku_. “Fine, fine,” he puts his hands up and an eyebrow raises on her part. “I’m his legal guardian. A friend first, but a legal guardian second. I’m the hotdog man, if you must know.”

Something about that clicks and Aoi’s eyes widen. “Oh, you’re…!” she takes a breath and then releases it, her attitude switching from suspicious and distrusting to understanding and relenting. “I’m sorry for my doubts. I find it hard to trust people.”

“No worries,” he tells her. “I just need to know when you last saw Yusaku. I can’t find him without any leads.”

Aoi shakes her head. “I don’t know. I saw him in class just after the bell rang. We talked a little bit about our latest exams and then he left. There wasn’t anything that I felt was wrong or weird about him. Are you sure you have no other leads?”

“No. I don’t.”

She frowns. “Then I…and no one’s seen him since?”

He shakes his head.

“Maybe,” she rubs her chin and then looks at a nearby wall in contemplative thought. “I know this might sound weird, but my brother often hires a private investigator when he needs help finding something. She’s an information hunter – Ema Bessho.”

The name clicks in his mind and he pulls out a crumpled card from his wallet. Aoi’s eyes widen and she looks between it and him. “You’ve already met her?” she says and then shakes her head. “She gets around, why am I even surprised?”

“And she can help?”

Aoi nods. “She’s very reliable. Very pricey but reliable. Well, about as reliable as you expect for the price but outside of the job itself she can be an _interesting_ individual.”

“I…thanks. I think I’ll call her.”

She looks as if she’s expected this outcome and gives him a nervous wave. “I’ll look into it too. Yusaku being gone for even a day worries me. Especially if it worries _you_ as well. I’ll contact you if I find anything.”

“Thanks.”

She leaves and he is left to stare at the card. He takes in a breath and pulls up a phone. He dials a number, the same number on the card, and awaits a response.

“Hello?”

~~~~

He steps into the VRAINS.

The coordinates he’d typed in lead him to the roof of a tall, imposing skyscraper. His shoes clatter against concrete and he looks around. No one is around him. Nothing is around him except for a cube structure holding a staircase and a few potted plants. He peers at the pieces of flora, surprised that anyone would be tending to virtual objects inside the VRAINS. He knew gardening was possible - it was hard to accomplish and rather tedious – but it was definitely possible.

“Like what you see?”

A female voice chimes and bells ring around him. He straightens up, watching as a figure appears from melted shadows.

“The wraith of the VRAINS,” he whispers, words flying from his mouth as his hired help appears. He corrects himself when her form becomes fully visible, the light of the VRAINS glistening upon silver and pink hair. “Ghost Girl?”

“Nice to see you again, Shoichi,” she says, nodding her head. It is stiff and informal, uncertain and unsure.

“You’re…Ema?”

“Oh?” her eyes widen in surprise and she pauses. “You hadn’t noticed?”

“…No?”

She giggles at his startled expression. “I thought you’d figured it out. Yes, Ema Bessho and I are the same person. Ghost Girl is my VRAINS persona. I’m a treasure hunter, if you must. And, obviously, it looks like you’re my client this time. Let’s talk about that. Your son is missing, I believe?”

“My friend.”

“Ah, right, your friend. Could’ve fooled me,” she steps closer to him. “Now, where did you last see him?”

“Before he left for school. His classmates said he was with them up until school ended.”

“Any normal hang-out places?”

“Just a house. I checked before I called. He’s not there. He’s been missing for a day now and it’s not like him to do that.”

She nods, and then props her chin on the palm of her hand. She paces around him, eyebrows furrowing. “Is it possible he’s in the VRAINS right now? Did you check to see if it’s possible he’s in there right now?”

“I…no, I didn’t. But if he was there, he’d been making a sensation on the news.”

She smiles. “Playmaker, huh? Yes, no doubt the news would be up and screaming about him if he was in the public eye. Still, perhaps, is it possible there could be a way to tell where he is if he was indeed here? A tracking code or anything?”

“I…have emergency cameras on him. Back-up cameras in case he needs help. And I have his duel disk’s ID. I can try pinging it to see if there’s a response but…”

“Do that. Or, rather, do both of those things. It might help if he’s actually here.”

He nods, bringing up several screens to check around. A keyboard appears before him and he clicks in multiple lines of codes.

A screen of pixels appears before him. A square of black sits before them, glaring and waiting. Ghost Girl peers at it curiously.

“Disconnected?” she asks. “There’s no sound or anything.

He shakes his head, gesturing to a green circle just above the feed. The symbol for ‘active’.

“Then where?”

“I don’t know.”

“Try connecting to his duel disk.”

He brings up a separate window and tries to get a response. He waits, a circle of dots spinning, and all he hears is the blood in his ears and Ghost Girl’s careful breathing. Moments later, he gets a response.

“Can you track it?” Ema asks him.

“I’ll need help.”

“Consider it done,” she smiles and opens up her own window that is shared between them. He nods and then follows her lead, typing in a collection of codes. Fingers move across virtual keyboards and, after a few minutes of time, they draw up a location.

“Interesting,” Ema says, peering at the coordinates. “Nice hiding place.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s a hacked zone from one of the latest cyber attacks. SOL’s put a ban on it for the moment but that doesn’t mean they’re keeping it under locks. There’s no one guarding the area while they’re waiting for repairs.”

He raises an eyebrow at her. “How do you know this?”

“I have a friend at SOL. He tells me things and I piece two and two together. Trust me, I’m not at all surprised that anyone would hide Playmaker there. It’s as abandoned as a graveyard.”

Shoichi nods. “So, how do we go about this?”

“Well, it’s likely your friend is trapped in that area. We’ll need to investigate, scope things out. But, we’re going to need help. We could be walking into a trap and having some back-up will always prove useful. I could contact Blue Angel. She’s a distant friend of mine and a close friend of Playmaker’s - she might help us out.”

“I could call up Go Onizuka,” Shoichi says. “I’ve worked with him before and he’d definitely be available if he hears Playmaker is in danger.”

“Good. Call him. The more the merrier,” she pauses and then hesitates. “I…might call up someone else too. But, I can’t guarantee anything. For now, let’s just get those two here and on our side.”

He nods and opens up a screen, calling up Go’s number. Ghost Girl does the same, no doubt calling up Blue Angel.

Both agree to their demands without a second’s hesitation.

~~~

They sit on the edge of a cliff, looking down at a section of rocky spires that burst out of porcelain sand. Foaming waves of storm gray splash and sizzle, the faint cries of seafowl echoing overhead.

“He’s down there?” Blue Angel asks in disbelief. “In the rocks?”

“More like in a cave,” Ghost Girl says, pointing to the dot on her screen. Her voice crackles as she speaks as if her connection is breaking. She points underneath her. “There’s undoubtedly a tunnel beneath us. We’ll need to investigate.”

Go eyes the spires beneath him. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“It doesn’t seem safe,” Blue Angel echoes.

Shoichi turns to her with a laugh. “You have wings, what are you worried about?”

The girl rolls her eyes. “They’re there for aesthetic purposes. They don’t actually fly.”

“We could hoverboard down,” Go offers. “We all have hoverboards, right?”

“No,” Shoichi and Ghost Girl instantly chime. Both adults look at each other and then smile.

The children before them give exasperated sighs. “I’ll take Go’s board,” she tells them. “And you can take mine in the meantime. The boards should be able to support two people.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’ll be fine,” she reassures him and nods to Go.

The boy summons his board and he climbs atop it. Blue Angel beckons to the air and a white hover board tinged with pink manifests itself before her. She picks it up and hands it to Ghost Girl, winking. The woman raises an eyebrow but her cheeks go pink. She shakes her head and turns to him, settling the board before her. It hovers in place, ready and awaiting for footsteps to appear on its surface. Ghost Girl hops on and then beckons to him.

Shoichi follows her lead, stepping behind her. She moves forward and he jerks back in surprise, teetering nearly the end without balance. Ghost Girl huffs, grabbing his arms and wrapping them around her waist. “Hold on,” she tells him.

“A-Alright.” His grip tightens and she seems to stiffen.

Go’s hover board moves up into the air and they wait for Ghost Girl to do the same. She ascends and then leans forward, dragging Shoichi forward as well. Their board lines up with Go’s and then they descend over the edge of the cliff.

“You’re a natural on the hoverboard,” Blue Angel tells Ema. “Good job.”

“Thanks,” Ghost Girl shrugs and then follows them down to the ground. A section of sand opens up before them and they land upon it without much effort.

Shoichi immediately uncoils his arms from around Ghost Girl’s waist and she peers back at him. There’s an expression on her face that suggests she’s close to pouting and he flushes in embarrassment.

“Let’s go, you two,” Blue Angel says, pushing them forward and into a cluster of spires. She leads them to the mouth of a cave, peering in with apprehension. “So, who wants to lead?”

“I’ll go,” Go says, head raised, and then brushes past her. Blue Angel nods her head and trods after him. Shoichi falls behind the pair, Ghost Girl at his side.

He turns to the woman and frowns as he squints through the murky darkness. Damn, too bad he didn’t have a virtual flashlight on him. They were impractical in the VRAINS but, as it was right now, they would be a good tool to have on hand right now. “Do you happen to have a map of this place?” he asks.

Ghost Girl takes moment to bring up a bluish screen with blue-white outlines. It reminds him rather oddly of the video games he used to play in his youth. The woman points to a section that winds its way down, separating her screen into three separate layers that, inevitably, indicate three separate floors.

“And Yusaku?”

“I can’t tell where your so- _friend_ is at. I’m trying to establish a connection with his duel disk but it looks like there’s a signal interfering. I can’t do much more at this point.”

“It just means we’ll need to be careful,” Go says from over his shoulder. “Stay close, everyone. We don’t know what kind of enemy we’re dealing with.”

“You don’t need to tell us that,” Ghost Girl says and Blue Angel nods in agreement. “We’re already well aware.”

“I’m just saying that I’ll protect you all if need be…”

Blue Angel pokes the boy in the ribs and grins at the wrestler. “We can handle ourselves,” she tells him, “but thank you anyways.”

Shoichi laughs as the boy blushes, pleased but nervous nonetheless. Ghost Girl’s giggling intertwines alongside his and both children send them scowling looks.

Footsteps bounce off of rocky paths and Shoichi watches as stalagmites and stalactites unfurl out of the ground, sharp and jagged and an easy death sentence. They spark with red light, bleeding blue particles that echo of the virus that had rooted itself here days ago.

“I’m surprised SOL hasn’t repaired this area yet,” Go says when the silence stretches out too long. He steps around a spire of rock and they all repeat his movements, avoiding impalement. “It’s been inactive for a week now.”

“It’s a very popular dueling spot,” Blue Angel chimes in. “Or, more like, it _was_ a popular dueling spot. After Playmaker brought about speed-dueling, it’s fallen out of favor.”

“A cave?” Shoichi wrinkles his nose as a drop of water lands on his head. For a second, he swears he hears footsteps. “Why would a cave be a popular spot to duel?”

“It has an underground lake,” Ghost Girl says with an off-handed wave. “I’ve heard it can look quite pretty when SOL puts the effort into fixing it.”

Blue Angel frowns. “They can’t maintain it all the time. Especially after the latest virus attack, which wiped out more areas than this one. SOL is doing everything they can to fix the problem.”

The woman glides forward and pats the girl’s head. “Alright, alright, don’t fuss about it. I meant no offense by my comment. You’re over-reacting again.”

Blue Angel nods. “Right. Sorry.”

“There’s no need to-!” Ghost Girl pauses midsentence and then pushes Blue Angel away. She darts to Shoichi’s side and drags him to the ground as she falls to the floor of the cave.

Go, on instant alert, spins around and Shoichi watches as knives slide past his face. The wrestler dives away and Blue Angel looks up from her position on the ground, purple eyes cold and calculating. She points to a ledge above their heads where five shadows lurk. Another round of knives is thrown and Blue Angel rolls to the side, wincing as a knife slices into her arm. She hisses, snarling, and backs away behind a stalagmite. Go follows her lead and so does Shoichi, grabbing Ghost Girl’s hand and then leading her to a pair of malformed calcium mounds.

“What now?” Go asks, eyes kept warily on the battle-field.

Blue Angel tilts her attention in Ghost Girl’s direction. “Aren’t you the expert on this kind of stuff? Do you have a plan?”

“Not really – I didn’t expect to see assassins here,” she shrugs nonchalantly and they all balk at her.

“ _Assassins_?” Shoichi questions, breathing in sharply. “What do assassins want with Playmaker?”

“Do I look like I know the answer to that?” he shakes his head and the woman continues. “I can write up a program to immobilize them and keep them trapped. It’s going to take me a few minutes, though. You two can act as distraction while I write it up.”

“And me?” the dark-haired man asks her.

Ghost Girl smiles at him. “Would you mind helping me with the coding? It’ll go much faster with the two of us. I’ll show you the basic layout and then we can go from there.”

He nods while Blue Angel and Go Onizuka stare at them in exasperation. The two children share glances with each other, look out into the darkness of the save and the sound of knives hitting calcium, and then they shake their heads.

“Now,” Ghost Girl cracks her knuckles, “let’s get started.”

~~~~

Within five minutes, the program is completed.

Ghost Girl beams as their project comes to a close, manifesting in the form of five silver roses – one for each shadow that haunts the area behind them. She hands him two, simpering as they face the battlefield that Blue Angel and Go Onizuka dance upon.

“How does this work?” he asks, holding a rose in each hand and marveling at the realism of them. The petals feel soft under his finger, the thorns sharp and irritating but not so sharp as to piece the skin they tread upon.

“We need to throw these at the assassins – one per person. Then, the trap should activate and entrap them.”

“Do we need to draw them out, then?”

She nods. “Yes, most likely. Although,” her gaze sweeps around the cave to where five different shadows have slipped along, separated from one another and yet intent on the idol and wrestler before them, “it looks like those two are doing a good job of that.”

He holds a rose before him and looks at her. “Good luck?” he suggests.

The woman laughs at that, holding one of her own flowers beneath her nose. She closes her eyes, breathes, and then faces him. “Good luck to you too. Let’s hope we don’t get caught.”

And then she dashes off, roses in hand. He follows her lead, jumping out from their hiding spot to advance upon a rather slender assassin. They peer at him, make a disgusted sound, and then pull out a selection of knives. Shoichi dodges just in time, ducking as he throws the rose to the ground. His opponent stares at it, laughs, making a move to advance-

And vines appear to wrap the stranger’s arms and legs around their body. They curse, spluttering and yowling as they struggle against their binds, but find themselves steadily locked into place. Shoichi huffs at their display of anger, moving on to his next victim – the man behind Blue Angel.

It seems Yusaku’s friends has put herself in a bind, distracted with chasing one shadow while another pursues her from the darkness. Shoichi’s half-tempted to call out to her but he stays low, moving forward with careful steps until the man before him notices his presence. He spins around and Shoichi sees the glint of metal but it is far, far too late. The rose lands at the stranger’s feet and he goes down shrieking in agony.

Damn. It looked like that rose had had a hint of malicious coding.

Blue Angel nods at him, grateful, and then holds up a rose she must have gotten from Ema. She chases after the third shadow, pauses, and then throws the faux flower at the assassin’s feet. They howl and scream, twitching and writhing before they lapse into unconscious.

Hot damn.

Blue Angel doesn’t seem the least surprised, taking a deep breath to regain herself. “Now,” she says, “what about the other two roses? Or does Ema have them?”

He blinks for a second and then nods his head. “She does.”

“Then where is she?” Go appears beside them, looking dazed and confused. “I can’t find her.”

Shoichi’s heart suddenly speeds up and he twists his head back and forth with desperation. “Ema!” he shouts. “ _Ema?_ ”

A scream and then he sees Ghost Girl flying into a stalagmite. Her body hits the calcium mound and she slumps to the base of it. Shoichi rushes over to her, hands held above her and shaking. “Ema? Ema? Ema, wake up!”

She opens her eyes and attempts to stand up but crumbles before she can even lift her head. A cackle sounds behind him and Shoichi spins around to watch as the last assassin approaches. Behind him sits a silver rose that lies on the floor, alone and trampled down upon.

“How sad,” the man says, static seeping through his voice, “to think I’d see you in such a state, Ghost Girl. Well, better to have one competitor knocked off the food chain than having myself kicked off it. Your little flower trick won’t be the end of my today.”

He draws out a gun and points it in Ema’s direction. However, Shoichi jumps in front of her, blocking the gun from direct fire towards her body. The man snickers at such a display, obviously amused. He advances, staring Shoichi straight in the eyes and then aims for his forehead.

White flashes at his feet and a giant flower manifests beneath the assassin. Petals the size of horses spread out and then close up, swallowing the man into a cocoon of white. The man shrieks and, moments later, Shoichi hears the sounds of gunshots echoing from inside. The flower gurgles, tightening around the man until it outlines the distinct shape of a human being. Then, the flower constricts and blue particles release from its center, spreading up like pollen. It lingers for a moment and then disappears into the void.

A boy stands behind it. His clothing glints with gold, sweat on his face and breathing hard, but he greets Ema with light in his eyes and a smile on his lips.

Ema tries to regain her self and manages to come to a sitting position. She looks at the boy and beckons him closer. He manifests from the shadows and offers her a hand. She takes it and he pulls her up.

“You came all this way, huh?” she tells the newcomer. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“You’re the one who asked for my help, auntie,” the boy laughs and then turns to Blue Angel and Go Onizuka. “It’s nice to see you two again.”

They nod, obviously familiar with him. “It’s been awhile,” Blue Angel says.

The boy peers at Shoichi and then offers him a hand. “You’re the hotdog man, right? My aunt has told me all about you.”

“Your aunt...?”

“Ema. Ghost Girl.”

Ema looks up and laughs at the baffled expression on Shoichi’s face. “He’s my nephew,” she tells him.

The boy nods and Shoichi shakes his hand. “Consider myself your future nephew-in-law,” there’s a grin and Shoichi pulls away with eyebrows raised. The newcomer switches his gaze to Ema and then snickers. Shoichi follows his gaze and finds Ema standing beside him, wobbling but with her hair over her face. She grabs onto Shoichi’s shoulder and he yelps as she tries to steady herself.

“Are you sure you’re fine?” the boy with the gold outfit asks. “If you want, I can escort you out…”

She waves him off. “If anything, it’s you who should go. You’re still sick.”

There’s a look of hurt that passes on the boy’s face. It passes by so quickly that Shoichi almost thinks he hallucinated it. “I’m fine,” the newcomer says quietly. “Come on, we need to find Playmaker, right? Let’s keep going.”

He joins up with Blue Angel and Go and the trio lead the way through the maze of rocks and calcium deposits. They ignore the screaming that echoes behind them, more concentrated on the way the shadows bend and break.

“Do you think there’s any more of them?” Shoichi asks Ema.

“What? Assassins?” she rubs her chin. “Maybe. It’s a possibility.”

“Shouldn’t you code more roses then?”

“I have it pre-programmed. We’ll be fine.”

He nods and they hurry along. They wind their way through the cave’s calcium formations, following the trail to the second floor and then to the third where a giant lake greets them.

At first, Shoichi is stunned. The lake is lifelike, almost realistic down to the flow of the water as a waterfall fed into it from above. Glow worms illuminate the area below, providing just enough light for them to see the island in the midst of the lake. On it, a familiar form laid, slumped and unconscious.

“ _Oi, oi!”_ Ignis shouts. “ _Idiots over there! Yes, you guys! Come here! There’s an invisible bridge just to your left! Or, is it your right? No, it’s definitely to your left!_ ”

Blue Angel beckons them forward. “I know what bridge he’s talking about, come on!”

They follow behind her as she leads them to a ledge edged with stone. She taps her foot forward and everyone tenses, expecting her to plunge face-first into the water. Instead, the girl glides forward, unworried as she takes step after step. Go follows after her and then Ema’s nephew behind him. Ema falls behind them and Shoichi goes behind her. They traverse the bridge with caution, following Blue Angel’s lead as she takes them from one end of the lake to the other.

Ignis greets them with a huff. “ _Took you idiots long enough. Master Playmaker has been suffering for hours now because of your incompetency._ ”

“And yet you seem relieved,” Blue Angel shoots back at the AI.

Ignis rolls it eye. “ _Me? Relieved? All you’ve done is saved me from living by myself on an island with an unconscious boy._ ”

“What happened?” Go asks, bending down to inspect coils of rope that keep Playmaker unable to move.

The boy with the gold outfit pulls out a pocketknife and begins to saw away at the offending item, fibers fraying underneath the sharp blade. “Hold on, Yusaku,” he says, amber eyes watching the boy with teeth biting into lips.

Shoichi bends down beside him, hacking in a knife of his own. He begins working on the same area Ema’s nephew is, careful not to inject the blade into his fingers. He peers at the boy in the meantime. “Did you know him?”

“Playmaker? Yeah,” the boy’s gaze softens. “You might recognize my name. I’m one of the ones he hangs out with.”

The boy says his name and Shoichi nods.

“I’ve heard of you,” the man says. “I’m just surprised you and Ema are related.”

“Mm,” he replies with a shrug. “Most people don’t believe we’re related. Mostly because I don’t look anything like her.”

The rope begins to pull apart and they begin to work at it at a more furious pace, desperation easing way to strength. Yusaku sits still beneath them, unconscious but breathing, according to Ignis. The AI keeps watch over him, monitoring his heart rate and keeping check in case Yusaku decides to jump awake.

Finally, the rope gives way and they untangle Yusaku from the mess. Shoichi brings up a window and logs him out, watching as he disappears.

Blue Angel looks around. “Should we go now? This place is beginning to feel creepy.”

Go and the strange boy nod. “I need to get back to the orphanage,” the wrestler tells them.

“I’m beginning to get a headache again,” Ema’s nephew says, looking over at Ema. “I hope you don’t mind if I leave now?”

“Go, you need rest.”

The three children disappear from the VRAINS. Shoichi turns to Ema. “And you? How much do I owe you?”

Ema – Ghost Girl – gives him a half-hearted wave. “Consider this occasion free. You’ll still owe me some favors though.”

“But will I see you again?”

She pauses, staring at him, and then she bursts into laughter. “You sound like the love interest of som dumb chickflick movie.”

Shoichi stares at her, baffled and gaping. Ema giggles, leaning forward and touching her forehead to his. His face flares red and he can feel his ears burning as she pulls away.

“I’ll keep in touch, I promise,” she touches his nose with a finger and then strolls away, arms behind her back. The woman pauses, closes her eyes, and then waves goodbye to him.

She disappears into specks of light.

~~~

“Haruko Yamamoto.”

Shoichi stares at his screen, squinting at the picture Ghost Girl – Ema – has sent him.

“Who?”

Her anime depiction dances. “The guy who kidnapped Playmaker. He was apparently willing to put the kid on the black market or what I assume was the black market. The assassins being there suggests something shady was occurring.”

He leans back in his chair and Yusaku passes by, pausing only to look at the avatar on Shoichi’s screen.

“Hello, Ema,” the boy says.

The avatar jumps and frowns at the screen. “Yusaku?”

“Yep.”

“Shoichi, isn’t he supposed to be in school?”

There’s a moment of silence and then Yusaku knows he’s been caught. He vanishes from the truck without a word, closing the door behind him and making a dash for it.

“…I’m surprised you didn’t say anything,” Ema snickers.

“He knows he’ll get punished later. He’s just avoiding his fate but as soon as he gets home I’m banning his VRAINS privileges.”

“You sound just like his father.”

“Hah, if only. I’m way too relaxed with the kid. I know he means well but sometimes I wonder.”

Ghost Girl’s avatar plays with a strand of hair. She fidgets for a second, unsure, and then glances up at him. “Hey, Shoichi?”

“Mm?”

“You know how I said you owe me?”

“You’ve said it at least two times now. Why bring it up?”

“I want you to repay me now.”

He squints. “How?”

The avatar version of her puts her arms behind her back and blinks up at him. “A date?”

For a moment, all is still. Then time suddenly slaps him in the face and he’s left staring flabbergasted at his screen. His face becomes a full imitation of a tomato and he’s left stuttering as question marks appear over the avatars head.

“Oh dear, did I break you?” Ema sighs and then begins to tease him, “look, we can start off small. Go somewhere nice, talk, have a cute little meal. Bring your kid and I’ll bring mine or something. Hell, I’m pretty sure they think we’re dating already.”

He stares at the screen for a few more minutes.

She rubs her forehead and shakes her head. “Come on Shoichi, a girl just asked you on a date. Are you going to accept or not?”

He pulls himself together. “O-Of course,” he says. “Where do you want to meet?”

Ema’s avatar smiles.

“How about your hotdog stand?”

**Author's Note:**

> My original idea was to have Shoichi be in utter awe of Ghost Girl and become pals with her and then he meets Ema and ~shenanigans~ happen but whoops that plan never came to fruition. I blame my brain's constant need to keep a certain flow going and then NEVER STOPPING. I was done at like page 12. I made it to page 32 somehow and am now internally screaming bc HOW?????
> 
> Seriously I need to learn not to go on tangents with my stories. This is why I write one story a week bc I do not think I can handle anymore without wrecking myself in the process.
> 
> Hopefully my Gosaku run next week will be nice and short. Ten pages max. Then again, knowing me, it'll be like a gajillion pages. Unless it's all poetic and stuff like Parasite was. Parasite was fun. I wrote Parasite in a day and I freaking loved writing that one-shot.
> 
> Regardless, I hope this fic was enjoyable~ It's been a weird ride writing this bc Ema hasn't interacted with anyone past Yusaku and Akira so I dunno I guess this is technically a crackship rn. Hopefully we'll see Shoichi and Ema talk to each other soon in canon but considering where the show is going, who knows???
> 
> Reviews appreciated~


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